1. The Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a connector assembly and in particular to an assembly which provides zero insertion force for mating terminals having projecting resilient beams with conductive holes in a circuit board or the like.
2. The Prior Art
Most of the well known electrical connectors require a certain amount of force to accomplish insertion and extraction of the movable contact elements. This force is usually dependent upon the number of contacts being mated as well as the type of contacts. A drawback of high insertion force is not only is there the requirement of overcoming the force itself, but there is undue wear that is accompanied by the high force of the wiping action. Undue wear of this nature is particularly of concern where at least one of the contacting surfaces is plated. Undue wear would, of course, wear through the plating causing either a breakdown in the surface entirely or an open circuit condition.
Various attempts have been made to provide zero insertion mating as evidenced, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,222 and others. However, this patent does not concern itself with the particular problem of effecting zero insertion force mating of a plug member with conductive holes in a circuit board or the like.